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Seattle SuperSonics General Manager Sam Presti today announced additions to the Sonics Basketball front office staff as Bill Branch, Gerald Madkins and Frank Ross will all begin their Sonics duties immediately in preparation for the 2007-08 season.

“I am excited to welcome Bill, Gerald and Frank to the Sonics organization, and I look forward to their contributions as we move forward.” Presti said. “They each bring unique experiences and perspectives to our scouting and personnel systems.”

Branch, who enters his 21st year in the NBA, was named the Sonics’ Director of Pro Player Personnel. For the past five seasons, Branch served as an assistant coach/director of scouting for the Denver Nuggets. He joined the Nuggets in 1997 as a scout and was later named director of scouting before his promotion to assistant coach. He began his NBA career with the expansion Charlotte Hornets in 1987 where he spent 10 seasons.

Madkins joins the Sonics as the Director of West Coast Scouting. Before joining the Sonics, Madkins was a scout with the New York Knicks for the past four seasons and served as an assistant coach with UCLA and Cal State Stanislaus. Madkins was named the Continental Basketball Association’s Rookie of the Year in 1993, and played three years in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. He also played professionally overseas in Spain and France.

Ross joins the Sonics as the Director of East Coast Scouting. For the past four seasons, Ross has been a scout with the Charlotte Bobcats after two seasons as the lead assistant coach with the University of Albany (NY). A fifth-round draft choice by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1987 NBA Draft, Ross played professionally in the Continental Basketball Association with the Sioux Falls Skyforce and in Germany with TTL Bamberg. Before joining the coaching ranks, Ross was a five-year veteran of the Arlington County Police Department in northern Virginia.